Detroit’s Tax Foreclosure Crisis

June 2, 2017

Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree and Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson talk about Detroit’s tax foreclosure crisis, in which thousands of people lose their homes each year due to unpaid back taxes. Sabree and Henderson spoke on WDET 101.9FM’s Detroit Today show earlier this month.

There are plenty of questions about how Detroit is doing with housing in 2017. Are people paying their property taxes? How are the thousands of tax foreclosures at the county level affecting the city’s efforts? How is the city doing at reducing blight — are the home demolitions keeping up with newly abandoned or foreclosed houses?

As part of WDET’s work with the Detroit Journalism Cooperative, Detroit Today Host Stephen Henderson discusses the issue from a city and county level.

Wayne County Treasurer, Eric Sabree, talks with Henderson about the county’s response to housing foreclosures.

“Wayne county is unfortunately the leading entity dealing with this problem,” says Sabree, “because of the fact that the foreclosures are so severe… This discussion really can’t be a complete discussion unless we’re talking about education, job training, and jobs… It’s a poverty issue.”

Sabree also discusses strategies the county and city have implemented to inform residents of their options to avoid foreclosure as well as potential alternatives to the current auction system.